Utah lawmakers finally passed the long-fought-for hate crimes law in the 2019 session. Delegates at next week’s Utah Republican Party Convention will consider a resolution calling on them to repeal the measure.
Sen. Daniel Thatcher, R-West Valley City, toiled for years to pass SB103, which implements enhanced penalties if prosecutors can prove the perpetrator targeted their victim based on any one of a number of protected groups, but only after a conviction for the crime is secured. Those categories include age, ancestry, disability, national origin and sexual orientation. Lawmakers also tacked on penalties if a victim is targeted because of their service in the armed forces or if they are an emergency responder.
Thatcher said that increase in penalties would take place only a handful of times each year in Utah.
The bill was finally approved by the legislature during this year’s legislative session and signed into law by Gov. Gary Herbert.
The resolution attacks Thatcher’s initiative because “allowing government to punish people for their beliefs is dangerous to liberty, and contrary to the principle of equal treatment under the law.” It also calls on the legislature to “reject proposals to punish people for their beliefs” and “work to repeal any existing Utah Code that would punish people for their beliefs.”
The proposed resolution, if approved by delegates at the state convention in Orem next Saturday, would be distributed to all Republican members of the Utah Legislature and Gov. Gary Herbert.
The sponsors of the resolution included a note about the intent of their resolution, stressing that they do not oppose criminal punishment for criminal actions. “This resolution is only intended to oppose punishing a person for his or her beliefs, whatever those beliefs may be.”
The resolution is not binding, and would not force lawmakers to act on it even if delegates give it the thumbs up.
